African Environmental and Human Security in the 21st Century By ...

A Food Crisis or Famine?

It was interesting to note that many of the officials from the government and NGOs were adamant about referring to the food crisis as a crisis and not a famine. A famine indicates a government that cannot feed its people. According to one official, a famine reflects people and livestock dying of hunger, while a food crisis describes a condition where food reserves are empty and widespread malnutrition exists.⁸⁰ Whether the situation was a crisis or a famine, it is clear that Niger suffers from a chronic structural condition that leaves it vulnerable to periodic crises/famines, which put its population at risk for widespread health risks and death.

There appear to be myriad factors at work that put Niger in such a precarious situation. One observer notes that the problem is chronic poverty, not natural disasters, conflict, or corruption.⁸¹ Government and UN officials maintain that the combination of drought and locust infestation caused Niger's “nutritional emergency.” They also maintain, though, that the emergency was localized and resulted in an 11 percent loss of cereal.⁸²

Warning signs of a coming emergency seemed visible. Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) noted the wave of malnourished children at their feeding center in Maradi. With low food reserves and a resulting increase in cereal prices, people could not afford food or medical assistance for their families. Subsequently, people sold their livestock, which caused livestock prices to fall.⁸³ Another causal factor was the pace of donor response. The World Food Program (WFP) saw signs of an imminent emergency in 2004, but donor response was not quick enough. The WFP noted that government-subsidized food was not enough to combat this problem, so it established free food distribution and food-for-work programs.⁸⁴ Unfortunately, much aid did not reach the intended population. One person noted that, as we mentioned earlier, some aid drifted to Nigeria and then was resold at unaffordable prices in Niger.

The sicknesses that develop in such an emergency have second- and third-order effects that are not clearly or immediately visible. For example, when mothers bring their sick children to treatment centers, siblings may be left home alone. When large numbers of sick children